John McClain's chat: How much can Texans' offensive line improve?

First-round pick Tytus Howard (71) figures to be among the keys to how much the Texans' offensive line will improve this fall.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

The Houston Chronicle's John McClain answered readers' questions about the Texans and other Houston sports topics in his weekly Texas Sports Nation chat Tuesday afternoon.

Here are some of the topics addressed in the chat:

• How much improvement to expect from the Texans' offensive line.• His thoughts on the reported memo to NFL players to prepare for a lengthy work stoppage.• What June Jones will bring as the coach of Houston's new XFL franchise.• What'll be the biggest changes to the Texans this season.• The movie he's most looking forward to seeing this summer.

John McClain, a Waco native who graduated from Baylor in 1975, is in his 43rd year at the Houston Chronicle and his 40th covering the National Football League, including the Oilers and Texans. He worked for the Waco Tribune Herald from 1973-76, when he accepted a job with the Chronicle. to cover the original Houston Aeros of the World Hockey Association.

McClain has a plaque in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio as the 2006 winner of the Dick McCann Memorial Award presented annually by the Pro Football Writers of America to a writer for his long and distinguished coverage of the NFL. He is past president of the Pro Football Writers of America.

He's a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Seniors Committee and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee.

In 2015, he was named as a Gridiron Legend in Texas, becoming the third member of the media behind Dave Campbell and Mickey Herskowitz.

McClain can be heard six times a week on the Texans' flagship station Sports Radio 610 in Houston. He also does weekly sports talk shows in Nashville, Knoxville, Waco, Austin and San Antonio.

McClain also has appeared in eight movies: The Rookie, The Longest Yard, Spring Breakers, Secretariat, Invincible, Cook County, The Game Plan and Make It Rain.